What does A New Frontier do right?

Since we're all in a storm over the poor writing and whether or not Gabe is the worst human being since Adolf Hitler, I thought it'd be nice to discuss everything that A New Frontier has done well so far.

(Please don't spam Conrad.)

Edit: If you think A New Frontier has nothing good about it and you would rather viciously tear the season apart, why not try this thread instead?

A family dynamic between brothers. The relationship between David and Javier is spectacular. They're very engaging when they share screen time together whether in flashbacks or the general narrative. They play off one another to generate one of the most realistic relationships Telltale has portrayed in their writing history.

After watching a video containing the full dialogues between Gabe and Clementine, Ship it or not, I can clearly see that those conversations are really well done. Considering that they are mostly off-screen/inaudible that's pretty ridiculous.

I am excited when she comes on screen and terrified when off screen. Terrified because she might be in a dangerous situation when we see her next time.
And the lack of illusional control over her terrifies me even more because it's out of my hands whether she dies or not.
Not that we had much control in S1 and S2 either, but at least you had the feeling you could shield her.

Everything's pretty average though. Characters are bland and flat, development questionable (Conrads is an exception), scenario cl… moreishe, plot unrealistic and music reusable.
Nothings really stands out. The only enjoyable aspect for me is Clementine.

I am excited when she comes on screen and terrified when off screen. Terrified because she might be in a dangerous situation when … morewe see her next time.
And the lack of illusional control over her terrifies me even more because it's out of my hands whether she dies or not.
Not that we had much control in S1 and S2 either, but at least you had the feeling you could shield her.

I personally think that this season they have done a very good job with the determinant characters.and different endings of episodes. Feel like the choices do matter more than in the previous 2 seasons

I love Richmond & Prescott. I feel like any place where there's actual human beings together trying to do human things is pretty great.

Like the fact that they have a fucking arcade in a fucking bar in Prescott!! and that Richmond has its like own hippie vegetable growing patch, man.

I also adore grown-up Clem being all badass and shit. The contrast between her and Mariana was crazy. Also: so many likable characters? I love Tripp, Eleanor, and especially Ava so much. They're all just so badass and I wish they didn't all have to fucking die ):

Last point; everything is so human? The relationship between Clem and AJ, Tripp having awkward feelings for Eleanor, fights between brothers, I just feel like it's very well-written and relatable, which is crazy in a zombie apocalypse!

-David and Kate relationships
Depending how you play, you and David can be in a tough spot or be best bros. When I watched someone play, David hated Javi by the end of ep 4. When I played, David ended up giving me a hug. I really liked that. As for Kate, yes she will hit on you no matter what and people will assume the worst, but you can reject her. And she will get the message. Of course how this all turns out to be depends on how episode 5 ends but as of right now I feel really in control of my relationships with those two. (Heck, I can even be a jerk to Gabe if I want. which I did)

-Depending on how episode 5 goes, your choices might actually matter the most out of all the seasons so far. As in multiple people living who would've otherwise died. So far we only have Conrad. But who knows. We'll see.

If we're talking about general, broad quality factors like good character development, the story being original or not, the plot being engaging/believable, etc... Well, not much is good, unfortunately. I can say one thing, choice handling has improved, but it is unfortunately pretty much meaningless when the choices are so weak and lacking some... meaning. And that's the thing, some things just don't work when other core things are missing. How are these choices supposed to be hard and impactful when I can't bring myself to form any sort of bond with the characters due to the lack of development? How am I supposed to feel passionate to come to these forums and defend my choices when the plot doesn't manage to bring anything new to the table, therefore making me completely uninterested? So yeah, a better (still far from perfect) handling of choices, which unfortunately amounts to very little due to the game lacking in other crucial aspects that are needed to give the choices merit in the first place.

If we are talking about specifics, like story moments and characters, I have a few things I do find positive:

Kate's character in episode 3 and the choice surrounding her (Ditching David/Not Ditching).

Eleanor's character in episode 4, the very, very, very buried development they gave her, aka her attachment to Richmond and therefore "betrayal".

The episode 4 Clem flashbacks felt nice. Although ultimately pointless and only there to make fans wet, I enjoyed them. It doesn't give this season any more points though. I see what Telltale tried to do here and I refuse to ignore the lazy way they handled S2 choices just because of a nice flashback with my chosen one, obviously shoehorned later down the line after the uproar.

Although I have 0 attachment to both characters, I do find Joan and episode 4 Conrad interesting.

And that's it, there aren't that many good things about this season, unfortunately.

This has honestly been the highlight of the game from Javi's perspective and one of the best things the game has going for it. Just from the first flashback, you can see the complexity of this relationship. It has resentment, but also love, jealousy, but also care, both have their fair share of fuck ups, but would try and do anything for their family. From the first episode, I have enjoyed this dynamic, hopefully Telltale doesn't screw it up in the final episode. Honestly, if Telltale were to get rid of Clem entirely, I wouldn't mind having a game focus entirely on Javi and David after the events of ANF.

A family dynamic between brothers. The relationship between David and Javier is spectacular. They're very engaging when they share… more screen time together whether in flashbacks or the general narrative. They play off one another to generate one of the most realistic relationships Telltale has portrayed in their writing history.

Not killing off Clementine for shock value. Considering the treatment of other major characters from previous seasons Clem dying was looking like an alarming possibility, and I'm thankful that Telltale didn't go that route.

Walking through the herd to get to the generator was actually pretty intense. I wish Telltale would do more gameplay segments like that instead of super easy quick time events.

The different endings depending on who you went after was pretty well done.

* The voice actors are amazing
* The characters look so alive and realistic due to the new engine
* Episode 4 is probably the be… morest TWD episode regarding choices
* I'm probably the only one here but I think the camera work is also great, how they zoom in and pan on characters during stressful sequences
* The relationship between David and Javi feels so realistic and it's so well made